Word from Winkler — A prayer for health-care reform

Editor’s note: Jim Winkler delivered the following prayer on June 24 at the “Interfaith Service of Witness and Prayer.” Members of the administration and Congress joined more than 40 national faith organizations for what may be the largest faith-inspired mobilization ever around health-care reform.

Creator God,

We stand before you on this beautiful summer day to affirm our common witness for health-care reform. We gather in our nation’s capital at Freedom Square to speak truth to power. We want our elected officials to listen to people of faith who seek to speak humbly on behalf of the last, the least and the lost.

The Prophet Ezekiel declared:

You shepherds of Israel have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.

We believe health care is a human right.

The prophets remind us that a nation that does not care for those in the dawn of life and those in the dusk of life is in grave danger of losing its legitimacy. The availability of health care only for those who can afford it breaks the covenant between the government and its people. Affordability is not enough when too many have nothing to spend.

We believe health care is a human right. We affirm the interconnectedness of Creation.

We reject the notion that the profits of health-insurance companies should come before health care for our people.

We reject the notion that people must go without needed drugs because high prices put them out of reach.

We reject the notion that we as a nation can only afford to cover just 16 million of the 46 million people without health insurance.

We reject the notion that we as a nation can afford to carry on two wars, but we cannot afford to provide health care for our people.

We reject the notion that we as a nation can afford to maintain more than 700 military bases and installations around the world, but we cannot afford to provide health care for our people.

We reject the notion that multi-million dollar executive compensation packages must be protected at the expense of health care for our people.

We reject the notion that tax cuts for the wealthy must be made permanent at the expense of health care for our people.

We reject the notion that predatory lenders can make payday loans with interest rates of more than 300% per year at the expense of health care for poor people.

We reject the notion that the estate tax for millionaires should be repealed at the expense of health care for our people.

We reject the notion that trillions should be spent on bank bailouts at the expense of health care for our people.

So we prayerfully say to President Obama and members of Congress: As you work hard this summer on health-care reform, understand that people of faith insist the financial resources exist to provide health care for all our people. It is your responsibility as representatives of the people to order our nation’s priorities properly. The needs of the poor take priority over the wants of the rich.

Grant, O God, our leaders the courage to withstand the pressure exerted by entrenched interests. Grant, O God, our leaders the wisdom to understand all people must have health care. Grant, O God, we your people the strength to see this struggle through to the end.

Amen.